Deadly Secrets
by Gottaluvit
Summary: Green Arrow enlists Batmans help to trake down his mising exward. AU story.
1. Chapter 1

Title -Deadly Secrets

Summary- Green Arrow enlists the held of the master detective to find his missing ward.

DC owns all characters.

Rated M+

Part 1

A cool wind whispered across the rooftops as a shadowy figure appeared, silhouetted in the darkness by the moonlight that shone behind him..his paused, eye's watching the streets below for signs of movement, standing solidly, his arms folded across his chest. It had been a rare quiet night on the streets of Gotham..with only minor crimes that required the intervention of the city's resident vigilante crimefighter..Batman made the decision the return home..and readied himself to move off when a soft sound from behind him reached his ears. He froze, listening carefully..then relaxed slightly as his carefully attuned senses registered who had made the small noise.

"What do you want?" he asked without turning..his deep voice emotionless.

"Sheesh Bats..one day you're gonna have to tell me how you do that."

Batman turned and cast his eye over the colourfully clad Archer that had moved to stand behind him. "I'm sure this isn't a social call Arrow..I'll ask again, what do you want?"

"Friendly little chap ain't ya..Nice to see you too ya big lug." Green Arrow replied..walking to the edge of the roof, and peering down on the street Batman had been watching moments before.

Batman scowled, and resisted the urge to sigh in frustration..very few men could get under his skin in quite the way Green Arrow did..the man irritated him almost as much as the Archers former ward did..But at least Arsenal could blame his irritating ways and lack of restraint on youth _and _being raised be the annoying Bowman who now stood beside him..Oliver Queen had no such excuse. "I don't have time for games!" he said gruffly.

Green Arrow turned to face the Dark Knight and looked briefly at his eyes before looking away..he found the opaque lenses that covered the eye holes of the other hero's cowl just a little too creepy for his liking..but then he was talking to the king of creepiness here. "Okay..all right, don't get your long johns in a knot..I need your help with something." he said.

"My help?"

"Yeah..that's what I said didn't I!" the Archer replied.

"And you couldn't just pick up the phone?"

"I thought I'd have more chance of gettin ya help if I spoke to you in person..side's the case I'm working on kinda brought me here..So..here I am...You gonna help me or what?"

"What is it you need?"

Green Arrow sighed deeply and turned back to the street..he pulled off his cap and ran his free hand through his hair, before placing the cap back on his head. "One of my boy's has been missing for a week..I've followed every lead I can find... and I haven't turned up nothing worthwhile..The lead I followed here turned out to be worthless." he sighed again.."I need someone who's able to dig deeper than I can to assist on this."

Batman remained silent for a moment, studying the archers demeanour..the Bowman was worried, and it showed clearly. "Which one?"

Arrow turned back to look at the other hero. "Roy..Arsenal..but he wasn't on a case or anything when he vanished..he disappeared as Roy Harper..That alone has me worried, I can understand him getting into strife as Arsenal..but .."

"I'm of the understanding that Harper can be a little..impulsive at times..You've made sure he hasn't just taken some time out..perhaps gone camping..which I've heard he's quite fond of..without telling anyone?"

"He left Lian with a sitter for a couple of hours and never came back...The kid doesn't do that..he'd never leave Lian without making sure he called or contacted the nanny to let them know he wasn't coming home if he suddenly had to go on a case or something...He's a good Dad, that kids his life..No, something bads gone down I know it..I can feel it in my bones."

There was silence for a moment before Batman replied..he had to agree that it would be out of character for the Roy Harper he knew to leave his daughter without making proper arrangements for the child..that was one thing he had to admit, the boy might be impulsive and irritating..but he had his head on right in most cases when it came to his child. "Very well..follow me." he ordered as he turned his back on the other man and shot out a grapnel line, before disappearing over the side of the building.

"I'll take that as an agreeance to help...Though a simple yes Arrow I'd be glad to lend a hand woulda sufficed." the Archer grumbled as he shot off a line of his own.

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Roy swallowed hard as nausea threatened to overwhelm him, he moaned softly and held his stomach as he shivered from cold and shock. Every inch of his body was covered in bruises and abrasions and his muscles ached unbearably.

He opened his eyes and stared at the brick wall of his cell..the smell of stagnant water from the drain outside the small room..and mould from the thin lumpy mattress he was laying on was almost unbearable...He slowing, agonizingly pushed himself to a sitting position..coughing in pain as he did so and spitting blood out onto the floor..once upright he sat still..shaking uncontrollable as he struggled to push the pain and nausea down.

"You shoulda just talked ya stupid bastard."

Roy turned to look at the guard that had appeared by the door..his vision so blurred that he wasn't able to make out more than the man's shape..he said nothing and looked back at the ground, it took too much energy to hold his head up to look at the man.

"They'll leave ya alone for a day or two..So ya better use the time wisely and think about telling them what they wanna hear." the man said as he jingled a set of key's against the cell door as he opened it.

"I..I don't know what they want." Roy whispered hoarsely.

The guard laughed. "I'm sure ya don't..now..It's amazing how much a couple more interrogation sessions can help loosen tongues...Here..eat it, it's all ya get till tomorrow." he said as he placed a bowl of lumpy gruel like food on the mattress beside the red head.

Roy looked at the blurry, slimy grey mess and felt vomit rise to his throat..even the thought of eating it almost made him lose control of his churning stomach..At least until today they had been feeding him something that resembled real food..not this disgusting slop..But today a lot of things had changed..they had tried to get the information they were after in more subtle ways until now..He knew what they wanted..and they knew he knew what they wanted..They'd upped the stakes today..the game had just gotten harder to play, and Roy hoped he had what it took to get through what lay ahead.

end 1


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

"Charming place." Bruce stated dryly.

"Yeah it is isn't it..kids got great taste." Ollie replied enthusiastically, totally oblivious to the hint of sarcasm in the other man's voice. "Like I said though, I already checked the place out after I asked Lian's sitter where the boy said he was going to..I didn't find out a thing."

"You said you came on a Tuesday." Bruce stated as he slid into a vacant booth and glanced around the dingy club.

"Yeah..so?" Ollie asked, slipping into the seat opposite.

"He disappeared on a Thursday." Bruce replied, then on seeing the other man's questioning expression "The staff changes on a Wednesday and a Sunday..I know you spoke to the manager, but it's the floor staff that were working on the night Harper came here that we need to talk to." he added.

Ollie sat back and cocked an eyebrow. "They didn't tell me _that _when I questioned them"

"Did you ask?"

"No..But youd'a thought they would have guessed I'd wanna know...Just as well I've got you on the job Brucey boy..bet ya did some homework to find that little snippet out." The Archer said, grinning as he admired a woman dancing on the stage.

"Every case requires 'homework' as you say, it makes the job easier and cuts back on surprises...it wouldn't hurt _you _to try it sometimes." Bruce said.

"Hey..I do my homework..well most of the time anyway..'sides, a few surprises is what makes the game exciting." Ollie said, not taking his eyes off the stage and nodding to the beat on the music.

"Or deadly." Bruce replied flatly.

"You worry too much..not good for ya heart worrying all the ti..."

"What can I get you too handsome gentlemen?"

Bruce scrutinised the tall blonde woman who approached them..he estimated she was in her mid thirties..older than the younger women that entertained the patrons with their dances on the stage. "Actually we are looking for some information." he said..speaking quickly to cut of whatever Ollie was about to say.

"Information?..Now thats an unusual request..Ask away." the woman said cheerily.

Bruce nodded to Ollie who sighed..a little annoyed that Bruce obviously had no intention of mixing business with pleasure, and pulled out a photo, holding it out to show the woman the smiling red headed man it pictured. "Seen him?" he asked.

The woman glanced at the photo..her smile dropping slightly. "Who's asking?" she asked somewhat suspiciously.

Ollie leaned back and smiled charmingly. "That's my boy..He's been missing for a week..."

"Your boy?..You're Roy's old man?..I shoulda guess..same good looking smile..though you don't look much alike otherwise." The woman said..her smile returning full force as she wriggled into the seat next to Ollie.

"He's my ward..was my ward..Anyway's sounds to me like you know him?" Ollie said.

"I know him..comes in here at least once a month..doesn't always stay long though..He's a nice guy, all the girls like him.."

"I bet they do.." Ollie said sniggering.

The woman laughed and playfully swiped at Ollie's shoulder.."Not like that, this isn't _that _kinda place..I meant he's a gentleman..a genuinely nice guy, we can get some sleaze bags in here sometimes..but not that boy..he has class..knows how to respect a lady...You raised him huh? gotta say ya did a good job." she said.

"We believe he was here last week?" Bruce asked...cutting off Ollie's response yet again and earning a glare from the Archer.

"Yeah..wasn't here long though." The woman replied, shrugging.

"Was he with anyone."

"Not that I can remember..He's missing you said?" the woman asked, looking a little concerned.

"Yes..and we need to find him." Bruce replied.

"Well I'm not sure how much I can help..I can ask around out back, see if anyone else knows if he was with anyone." The woman stood up and began to walk away.."Be back in fifteen." she added.

"Toldja the kid's got good taste..This is a great place." Ollie said, as he looked around the club, smiling to himself. "So you want a beer?..I'll shout." he asked.

"We're here for a reason..Not to party." Bruce replied.

Ollie frowned, the man opposite him might look like Bruce Wayne..but he was obviously in Batman mode. "I thought you didn't have that Bat stick up your ass unless you were in costume." he muttered..ignoring the cold glare that was cast his way.

They sat in silence for a while, Bruce trying the ignore the off beat humming and foot tapping that came from the Archer as the other man watched the show. Eventually the woman returned, and dropped two video cassettes on the table.

"No one saw him talking to anyone unusual..But I got ya the security tapes from last thursday night, not sure if it'll help but your welcome to em." the woman said.

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"This is getting us no where!" The man shouted into Roy's face, he held the young mans head up by his fiery red hair..giving it a shake before letting it drop again.

"You have the information we need..we both know it..Tell me now!" he shouted as he backhanded the Archer across the mouth.

Roy heard the slap more than he felt it, his body had been trembling so much with the cruel and unrelenting abuse that had been vested upon it over the past hour that he was at the point where he felt very little..not even the pain that he knew he should be feeling. The slap transported him to another place, he was still in the room, still tied to the chair and still able to hear the voices around him, but he could no longer open his eyes or lift his head even slightly.

"He's had enough" he heard a voice say.

"He's not going to break..I push it any harder and we'll lose him." came a response

"We can't allow that..We'll have to look for another way..Check through that report, he must have something he wants enough that he's willing to give up the information in exchange for it."

"He's got a kid I know that much."

At the mention of his daughter Roy felt his heart rate increase..but there was nothing he could do..nausea assailed him and a moan was forced from him, he coughed..and the pain that had disappeared for a while returned full force..his body spasmed with the sudden assault on his senses..then he relaxed into darkness..

"Get him out of here..Better get the Doc to check him out this time...Dixon will kill us if he dies on us." One of the men said as he signalled to two men that were standing at the back of the room to come forward.

"No point in continuing this..not like this anyway, like I said he's not going to break." The second man replied as he continued leafing through a file that he had been reading..he looked up briefly to watch impassively as the two men that had been signalled, untied the battered Archer and dragged him away.

"So we grab his kid?"

"Maybe..get some of our guy's to locate the kid, keep an eye on her for awhile than report back to me..Meanwhile I've found something else we can go with that might give us some leverage." The man reading the file replied as he smiled thoughtfully at what he was reading."Maybe we need to give him something he wants...Create a _need .. _something that he'll be willing to tell us anything we want to have filled...Can't hurt to have two aces up our sleeves now can it..We've still got time to work on this..Dixon told us we've got a month, plenty of time to move." he said as he placed the file on the table, he had no doubt his next tactic would succeed where the torture and beatings had failed..there was only so much resistance any man could provide before they broke, it was just a matter of finding what would cause that break.

end 2


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

"Do you question me Amar?"

"No sir..I would never question you, your cause is just..It is the only way for humans to survive the evil that threatens it."

Austin Dixon rose from his chair...the dark haired man magnated power and charisma that had the smaller man, known only as Amar, stepping back slightly. "Then we do what we must...it is unfortunate that we must take these steps..But the world is so blinded by those they consider their saviors that we fight this battle alone...We do so because it is right..we do so to save all that we know and love." he said, placing a hand compassionately of the other mans shoulder.

"This man..Harper..he still has not given up the information..Perhaps he has no knowledge of it." Amar said quietly.

"He has knowledge..You forget Amar, I was there..I know what happened..The person we seek did not vanish on his own accord, Roy Harper had a hand in his disappearance..I know this to be true...The report stated that the man fled and agent Harper was forced to shoot him..No body was found when the river was searched..and I know the man Harper was..and is, he would not have killed a fleeing man..no matter what the reports said..He knows where he is, he has played a role in ensuring Roberto Migliorini has stayed hidden all this time."

"What if he doesn't give up the information you seek?"

"He will give it up, I am confident of that..Never forget we have a greater power on our side, spurring us onward...He will guide the things that must be to occur. Harper will give us what we need..be confident Amar, do not doubt what will be." Dixon gave the mans shoulder a pat before turning away. "Go now..seek out those you love and know a better world will be coming." he added.

Amar bowed slightly, and turned to go. His leader was right, their cause was just..The world could not continue the way it was without the destruction of the true human race, something must be done..the supreme blessing of the great one was on Austin Dixon..who was he to question such greatness, he thought as he walked out of the room.

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Batman ran the tape again..augmenting the fuzzy black and white image until it was as clear as possible.

"There's nothing there..I don't know why you have to watch it again, isn't five times enough already..Kid comes in..sits down, orders a drink..gets a call an goes, doesn't even finish his beer. Whatever went down, went down with that call..That's my best guess." Green Arrow said, as he pulled an arrow out of his quiver that he had sitting on the ground beside him and proceeded to reach up and scratch an itchy spot on his back with it.

"It would appear that was the case..However.." Batman rewound and ran a section of the tape again. "_That _gives me reason to believe the call was a ruse." he said as he pointed to a man who appeared in the background near the clubs entrance..the man held a cell phone in his hand, and was punching in numbers.

Green Arrow watched transfixed as the man finished dialling at the same time that Roy's phone appeared to ring..he watched his ward take the call..the younger man placed his hand over his free ear and looked annoyed, obviously unable to hear the call properly because of the music in the club..the red head stood up and moved from his booth and headed towards the door, obviously intent on taking the call outside so he could hear better. "Well I'll be a monkeys Uncle." the Archer said, letting out a low whistle as the shadow obscured man waited until Roy walked passed, before following him outside. "That's our man!"

"Or someone who may know who our man is." Batman said as he tried to enhance the mans face. "The image is too obscure to see clearly, but with luck we may be able to enhance the image enough to get an idea of who we're looking for." he added.

Green Arrow watched fascinated as the image of the man was removed from the rest of the footage, then enlarged, before a series of enhancements made it become increasingly clearer. "I gotta get me one of these gadgets." he said awed.

"It's called a computer Arrow..and I believe you have one already."

"Yeah..but I want one like this..a really big one. Maybe I should get another Arrow cave..then I could have an Arrow computer and an Arrow car and another Arrow plane and...No wait..I have an idea..maybe team Arrow could set up here for awhile..you've got plenty of space..an Mia and Tim seem to hit it off okay, and..." Green Arrow's joking exuberance died down as he felt a Bat glare full force. "Sheesh you don't have a funny bone in your body..You must be a bag of laughs to live with, no wonder your kids are so..."

"We are not talking about my _kids_...We are supposed to be looking for one of yours, who I believe is in a great deal more trouble than he can handle on his own or you would have heard from him by now." Batman replied coldly.

The Archers playful demeanour faded away, replaced by a more serious look. "You're right, I'll admit it..Don't think I'm not worried, cause I am...I want that boy found as quickly as possible, I know as much as you do that he's gotta be in deep shit and I..." Green Arrows voice trailed off as another image appeared on the screen next to the image of the man's face that Batman had been working on. "Holy shit..I _really _gotta get me one of these things." he said.

"That's who we're looking for..Brian Caspin, has a rap sheet a mile long..He's also a well known hired gun..worked in Gotham for awhile, but it appears he's surface in New York."

"Well waddya waiting for?..Let's go find this bad assed dude." Green Arrow replied.

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Roy pushed himself upright on the bunk..every muscle in his body screamed in protest at the movement but, he thought to himself, he seemed to be in a little less pain than he had been the day before..They'd left him alone for a couple of day's, he'd even had a Doctor treat him the first day, and the food he was now being given had been edible..The fact that things seemed to have improved didn't give him any confidence though..he was sure they weren't being nice for the sake of it, they had something else up their sleeves he was sure of it..He prayed it had nothing to do with Lian..he couldn't bare the thought that something might happen to his precious little girl.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him pause in his thoughts, and he moved further back against the wall, watching suspiciously as the cell door was unlocked an five men walked in. He drew a breath and swallowed nervously as he recognised one of the men as the man who had been dealing out his abuse and torture over the last week or so.

"Hold him down." The man ordered.

The other four men dragged the now panicked Archer down flat on the mattress and piled on top of him, restraining him.

Roy felt panic surging in his body, he had no idea what was going to happen, but whatever it was it wouldn't be good. He struggled uselessly at first, soon realising he didn't have the strength to even move within their grasps. He felt his arm pulled on, and one of the men adjusted their grip to allow the fifth man to straighten the limb out, the movement gave Roy the opportunity to glimpse a syringe in the other mans hand. "No!" he yelled as he began to struggle again, feeling the sharp prick of the needle as it slid under his skin.

"I said hold him damn it!" the syringe wielding man yelled as Roy struggled.

Roy felt sudden familiar fiery warmth surge through his body..warming his insides..he groaned as the warmth washed over him..his mind registered fear at first as he realised what they had given him..then a sense of security, and protection as he relaxed into the feeling."That's got him." he heard a voice say..a voice that sounded like it was coming from a million miles away..He felt his breathing deepen, and at some stage he realised the men must have released him, he rolled onto his side and curled up into a ball..feeling safe and warm and wishing he could feel that way forever.

end 3


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Brian Caspin felt a cold shiver run up his spine and he froze, turning slowly around to see who was behind him..He breathed an audible sigh of relief when he saw that no one was there..and mentally cursed himself for being so paranoid..he still had another few minutes before Taylor turned up with the information he had for him..Though he wished the man had picked a better spot to meet, Caspin wasn't fond of dark alley's at night, no matter how private they were.

"Little bit jumpy there ain't cha."

Caspin jumped at the voice that came from above and behind him and whirled around, looking at the rooftops of the buildings at the side of the alley for the owner of the voice..His eye's fell upon the green clad Archer who had an arrow nocked an aimed at him, the Archers cocky grin doing more to unnerve the man than the arrow itself. "W..What do you want?" he stammered.

"Oh it ain't me that you should be concerning yourself about..I'm a pussy cat compared to him!" Green Arrow replied, nodding at the man to indicate he should look behind him.

Turning slowly, Caspin felt his heart race and his eye's widened at the dark clad figure who stood behind him..the figure was a terrifying sight at best, a sight that Caspin had left Gotham to avoid. "I..I..W..What are you doing here?..This ain't Gotham." he manage to stutter, his mouth suddenly becoming dry and his knees beginning to shake.

Green Arrow appeared to one side of him. "I think he knows that..You know this ain't Gotham don't cha Bats?" the Archer paused waiting for a reply, but when none was forthcoming he continued on "See Bat's here ain't real talkative..But never mind..I am..You can chat with me if you like?" he said conversationally.

Caspin put his hands in the air...He wasn't even going to try and take on two costumed hero's..maybe if it was just the Archer he'd have a chance, but Batman?..No way, he wasn't even going to think about it. "I'll tell ya what ever you want..if I know it that is." he said, swallowing nervously.

"Roy Harper" Batman said, his voice dark and harsh.

Caspin swallowed again."I just got paid to grab him..that's all. Well it wasn't just me..I hadta round up a dozen others to help me..We didn't hurt him or nothing..Hell he hurt us more'n we hurt him, we just had to dope him and hand him over."

"Hand him over to who?" Green Arrow asked..stepping closer to the man.

"David Baily..The guys name is David Baily. " Caspin spat nervously, keeping his eyes on Batman as he spoke..

"And where do we find this David Baily?" Green Arrow asked threateningly.

Caspin continued to keep his nervous eyes on the Dark Night as he answered. "I don't know..he found me, never told me where to look for him..He's connected to Austin Dixon..that's all I know."

"And Austin Dixon would be?"

"He's a psycho that runs some way out cult over in Switzerland..the Order of Human Perfection..or some such other crappy name..something like that. I swear that's all I know..I wouldn't lie to ya man." Caspin said pleadingly as he took a step back.

Batman removed some handcuffs and held them out, Caspin meekly placed his hands in front of him as the Caped Crusader cuffed him.

"And ya didn't hurt him?" Green Arrow asked.

"No they wanted him unhurt..They were real kean on pointing out what they'd do to me if I hurt him..He wasn't hurt when we handed him over that's all I can tell ya." Caspins voice broke slightly and he breathed deeply, trying to stem the anxiety that had begun to make him tremble.

"Okay..I believe ya." Green Arrow said, then he reached out and gave the terrified thug a hard slap on the back of the head, knocking the man to the ground.

Caspin cast terrified eyes on the Archer, too frightened to say anything else.

"Next time I'm talking to you..If ever there's a next time..You look at me, not dark and scary there..got it!" the Archer said.

Caspin nodded rapidly."I got it..I got it.' he said.

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Roy felt the familiar trembling inside of him..the anxious feeling that accompanied the heroin jones that was rageing within him made his blood rush..he hated it..he hated himself for wanting so desperately the only thing that could stem the god awful feeling that engulfed him, he felt sick..sicker than he'd felt in a long time. He had no idea how long he'd been in this place..or how long he would end up being there, and he didn't care anymore, all he cared about at that moment was the sound of the key in the door that would bring the relief his body craved.

The sound came and Roy uncurled himself, pushing his lean body upwards so he sat on the bunk, watching the man that entered with haunted bloodshot eyes.

The man smiled... for once the fire in the Archers eyes seemed to have faded.. the first few days they had needed to restrain him. "Are we going to need to hold you down again today?"

Roy shook his head. "No." he whispered..hating the weakness that made him say the word...wishing he had the strength to fight, but knowing to do so would be useless anyway.._and _knowing he wanted what the man offered, he wanted it so bad he could taste it.

"Good..it'll be easier this way." The man said as he walked over to the bed, pulling Roy's arm out and using a small alcohol swab to clean the inside of his elbow, before inserting the syringe he carried and injecting the drug into the red heads arm.

Roy shivered as the drug rushed through his system..then pushed himself further away from the other man to rest his back against the wall, before bending his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his head on his knees...and allowing himself to slip into the warm safe feeling the flooded over him.

The man reached out and patted the Archers shoulder. "Enjoy it while you can..it's not gonna be free for much longer." he said, laughing at his own words before turning to leave.

end 4


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

It was dark as the two heroes entered the compound, bypassing the security measure's that had been put in place until they made their way onto the roof of one of the four large buildings that where situated in the centre.

"Which one do you think we should hit first?..If I were a gambling man..which I am occasionally..I'd say that one." Green Arrow said, pointing to the one building that looked like a double story house...the other buildings looked more like large dormitories designed to accommodate dozens of people.

"Then you would be guessing right." Batman replied, not bothering to comment on the obviousness of such a guess, as he edged his way along the rooftop they were on towards the other building, and prepared to climb over the side..

"Figure's the 'supreme leader' or whatever this freak calls himself wouldn't want to bunk with his dedicated parishioners." Green Arrow said as he followed the other hero. "Any idea which building they'd have Roy in?"

Batman disappeared over the side and out of sight.

"I guess that's a no then." Green Arrow muttered as he hurried to catch up.

The two hero's made their way silently across the yard, past the guards in front of the house, then up the side of the building, before carefully entering the house. Silently they moved from room to room, be carefull not to wake the other occupants of the house, until they found what the were looking for.

Austin Dixon stirred in his sleep, oblivious to the two unwelcome visitors that now stood over his bed. Oblivious that was until a hand was slapped over his mouth to silence him and a heavy weight held him down..He opened his eye's wide in shock, and began blinking rapidly attempting to clear his vision.. He could barely make out the dark clad figure that leaned over him in the darkness.

"If you yell or make the slightest loud noise I'm gonna skewer you." Green Arrow said, moving beside Batman and aiming a nocked arrow at the man.

Dixon nodded rapidly.

"Atta boy." Green Arrow said, as he watched Batman remove his gloved hand from over the man's mouth.

"What do you want?" Dixon asked, his voice showing only mild alarm.

"Harper." Batman replied.

Dixon remained silent for a moment. "I don't know what you mean." he finally said.

"Don't push me..I ain't in the mood to play games..Where is he?" Green Arrow asked, taking a threatening step forward.

"I do not fear you..I am in the protection of one who is greater than any on this earth." Dixon replied smugly.

"Why you arrogant..." Green Arrows voice faded away as Batman placed a hand on his chest to stop him moving closer to the man.

"Where is Harper..we know you have him?" the Dark Night asked.

Dixon smiled, he wasn't afraid of these men, there was nothing they could do to him that would cause him concern. "You will never elicit such information from me." he said calmly.

"You think not do ya asshole?..Maybe I can change..."

"Arrow!"

Batman's voice was dark and authoritative and the Archer fell silent..he had worked with the other hero enough to know that Batman had a plan..as much as he wanted to jump on Dixon and beat the answers he wanted out of the man, he respected Batman enough to take a step back.

Batman leaned over Dixon.."We _will _find him..We won't stop until we do, remember that..It's only a matter of time until we track him down, and you will pay severely if he has been harmed. " he said threateningly.

Green Arrow watched as Batman pulled a length of rope out of god knows where and tied Dixon up, before pulling out a strip of cloth that he used to gag the man...it never ceased to amaze the Archer how much stuff Batman carried with him.

"Lets go" Batman said as he headed towards the door.

"But we haven't..."

"Now Arrow."

The Archer said no more..his mind ticking over the possible senarios for the plans the other hero may have formed. He silently followed Batman to the widow through which the other hero had disappeared and followed him into the night.

Five minutes later the two heros disappeared out of the compound and headed away into the darkness.

"We aren't just going to leave? We haven't..."

"Oracle..I want you to trace any calls that come from the location I'm at..you have the coordinates." Batman said, speaking into a communicator.

"Ohh...I get it..Roy's not there is he?..That's why you tied Dixon up instead of cuffing him, so he can work his way lose and warn whoever's got my boy that we're on their trail...bet you tied him up losely..didn't ya?..I like the way you think." Green Arrow said..pleased that he had been able to deduct that little bit of information.

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"You can stop this..You know you can, just tell us what we want to here and I'll give you what you need."

Roy shivered violently and groaned again as he clutched his stomach..he knew what they were doing..and he was tempted, so tempted to give in. Another wave of nausea hit him, he gagged, and ran to the dirty sink in his cell, reaching violently over an over until the wave passed, his stomach and throat burned viscously and his limbs felt like jelly..He turned on the tap and splashed water over his face, before sinking to the ground on his knees, leaving the tap running

The man who stood near his bunk stomped past him and turned off the running water, grabbing him by the hair and forcing Roy to look at him. "Stop pissing me off..Tell me what I need to know, I'm getting paid to do a job here and you ain't making it easy on either of us..Where is Migliorini?" he asked again.

"I don't know." Roy whispered, wincing as he waited for the slap that would follow..It came, hard and fast, knocking him onto his side on the floor..and was swiftly followed by a bone cracking kick to the ribs. Roy gasped, and gripped his side..as another kick connected with the side of his face.

"That's enough!"

"He's pissing me off David..He frigin knows what I want to hear..and he fucken well knows that I _know _he knows, but he won't give it up."

The man who was named David moved to kneel by Roys side, placing a hand on his head so he could move the Archers face to get a better look at the bloody gash the kick had left on his cheekbone. "This isn't the way to go..." he stood and faced the other man.."No food..and a night in the shed might weaken his resolve. Nothing like cold and hunger to make a man reconsider how determined he should be..that combined with what he's craving for right now might loosen his tongue." he said.

The other man moved quickly to grab the archer by the hair, hauling him to unsteady feet and pushing him towards the door.

Roy's body protested the sudden movement and he stumbled and fell, slamming his head into the brick wall as he did so and slipping into inky blackness that offered temporary respite from the distress his body was feeling.

end 5


	6. Chapter 6

Roy continued working on the steel rivets that held some of the panels of the small tin shed together, it was becoming hard work as the steel strip that he had found on the floor, that he was using to force between the panels in an effort to pop the rivets, was now slippery from the blood that came from cuts all over his hands where the jagged pieces of tin he had pried open had sliced into his fingers..and the darkness in the shed meant he was working by feeling, rather than sight.

He was rapidly getting to the point were he wouldn't be able to continue working, the withdrawal symptoms from the heroin he had been given over the last week would soon make it impossible for him to continue, but he was so close, and a couple more rivets and he would be able to push himself through the lose panel he was creating in the back wall of the shed he had been tossed into earlier..If only he could stop shaking so much he would be able to work faster, but he was so damned cold.

He stopped working for a moment to ride the wave of nausea that flooded over him, shivering even more violently as he sank to the floor and sat still, breathing rapidly, and gasping at a surge of pain that hit him..after a while the feeling subsided a little. "C'mon Harper, you're stronger then this." he whispered to himself, forcing himself to turn back to work on the shed wall again..He was surprised they had simply locked him in here and left..he was pretty certain they hadn't even bothered posting a guard at the door, if they had he was sure they would have investigated the noise he was making by now, perhaps they thought he was too weak to try to escape..or perhaps they thought the ropes they'd had tied him with would hold...If he remembered correctly there wasn't even a fence..he could easily make it to the thick forest that boarded the edge of the yard..and then he'd need to move quickly if he was to make it to safety, or at least far enough away from his captors before the heroin withdrawal became too much to bare and he'd have to stop an ride it out for a day or so. He gave a final tug on the lose panel and was rewarded with a loud pop as the final rivet gave way.

He pushed his way past the lose panel and fell to his hands and knees on the ground in the darkness at the back of the shed..His stomach flipped and he was unable to stop the dry heaving that accompanied the nausea. Eventually his stomach stopped it's cruel assault and he gasped for a moment, before glancing around him and standing up, lurching on legs that felt entirely too weak to hold him upright for much longer, he surged ahead and disappeared into the forest.

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Green Arrow put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat, looking admiringly around himself at the little buttons levers on the control panal of the Bat plane, he smiled to himself..Batman sure had some great toy's to play with. "What does it cost for one of these thing's anyway?" he asked curiously.

"A lot." Batman replied.

Green Arrow sighed irritably. "I _know _it cost a lot, but I...Oh forget it..So do you think we're gonna need an assist with this or what? 'Cause Connor and Mia are hanging by the phone 'case I need 'em." he asked.

"We recon first..see what the situation is, and if necessary we'll call in whoever we need." Batman replied.

Green Arrow remained silent for a moment.."What do you think they want with my boy?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure of that..I do know that Austin Dixon grand plan is to rid the earth of Meta humans..he believes they are a threat to the purity of the human race...I also know that he was working for Checkmate at the same time as Roy was, he was eventually relieved of his duties for health reasons..the man's certifiably insane..he spent some time institutionalised before he managed to escape and flee the country." The Dark clad hero replied.

Green Arrow remained in uncharacteristic silence for a long time, staring silently at the control panel of the jet.

Batman glanced briefly towards his temporary partner, then looked away again. "We'll find him Ollie..We'll get him home safely." he said, his voice warm and reassuring..that of Bruce Wayne rather than Batman.

"I hope so Bat's I really do..A couple of weeks is a long time for anyone to be in a lunatics hands...I don't even want to think about what they coulda done to him." Green Arrow replied quietly.

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"Find him!...Don't come back until you have him, I don't want any excuses, we need to get him back now!." David Baily ordered the six men that stood in front of him, watching as four of them headed into the forest, while the other two hopped into a van and headed down the dirt road that ran along the forests edge...He had no idea how he was going to break this news to Austin...He was supposed to be moving Harper away from here..Two American heroes had turned up at their Swiss compound and spurred Dixon to want to ensure the continuation of their work remained secure..A lot was riding on the information that Harper had so far kept hidden..without Harper their goal would be so much harder to reach.

"He can't have gone far..." A man standing beside him started to say.

"Why didn't you put a guard on him? You know how important he is to the cause...Do you _know _what Austin will do when he finds out whats happened?...Do you!" Baily yelled at the other man.

"It was cold David...I didn't see any point in having the men standing outside in the..."

"You didn't see any point?...You _idiot_...maybe you'd see the point if _you _had to be the one the tells Austin he's missing!"

"We'll find him David, He won't have gotten very far, he's been weakened over the last couple of weeks..Just hold off on telling Austin for now, there's no need to alert him when we could have Harper back again in a couple of hours."

"We'd better get him back, and fast..Austin wants us out of here by morning." Baily replied, turning his back suddenly and walking inside the house they had been inhabiting for the last few weeks...They had gone to a lot of effort to ensure Harper couldn't escape from them, even going so far as the convert a room at the back of the house into a cell for the red head..only to have all that effort waisted by this one stupid move.

end 6


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Roy stumbled through the forest, unable to see where he was going in the darkness, but driven on by the desperate need to go as far and as fast as he could in the little time he had. He tried to ignore the growing pain and discomfort his body felt, fixing a picture of his daughter firmly in his mind..there was nothing else in this world that could give him the strength he needed to get through this..nothing else mattered to him except seeing her again.

He ran on, tripping and falling numerous times, pausing until he could gain enough control of his tormented body to find the strength to get up and go on..Maybe someone would come looking for him..Ollie..maybe Ollie would find him, he knew his mentor would come to his aide if the older Archer even realised he was missing, but he also knew that there were times when he and Ollie didn't see or speak to each other for weeks on end, so it was a great possibility that his absence may not even have been noticed yet by the other man.

Suddenly the ground beneath him disappeared, and he fell..slamming into the ground over and over again, tumbling seemingly endlessly, his body screaming in pain as he rolled, before he was plunged into the freezing inky blackness of the ice cold river that had remained unseen in the darkness..The shock of the freezing water cause him to gasp, sucking in some of the liquid, before struggling to the surface, coughing and choking furiously as he tried to draw in a ragged breath..his chest felt constricted.. as if a strong hand had closed over it, squeezing it tightly so he couldn't take the breath he needed.

By pure instinct he found his way to the darkened bank of the river, scrambling over the slippery rocks before collapsing, gasping..still struggling to draw more than the smallest, most shallow of breaths into his lungs..he gagged, and reached, vomiting up some of the water he had sucked in. In his mind the image of his little girl appeared again, the sight of her sparkling eyes and tea stained skin..and the smile on her face bringing him warmth as darkness slowly replaced the image in his mind.

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"How many d'ya think?...Can't be too many, there's no barracks for guards or anything...just a house." Green Arrow whispered.

Batman continued to scrutinize the area below carefully...remaining silent as he contemplated the situation..His attention was suddenly drawn to movement on the edge of the forest on the other side of the house they were observing. He nodded towards the area.

"I see 'em..Three..no wait..four." Green Arrow replied, as men began to come out of the trees towards the house. "Now what d'ya think they were doing ratting around in the forest?"

"I'd say looking for something..or someone..But I believe they've found what they were searching for." Batman replied as he pointed to a van that sped towards the house. The vehicle pulled up on the other side of the house obscuring most of what the men were doing from the two heroes.

"Two in the van." Green arrow said.

"That's at least six..possibly a few more in the house.."

"Them's odds I can live with.' the Archer replied..a confident smirk appearing on his face.

"I'll take the back." Batman replied, already moving off in his chosen direction.

"Well I guess that means I'm going in the front." Green Arrow said as he to began to move.

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"Get out of here!" Baily yelled to the men who had just returned from their fruitful search, watching angrily as they filed out of the cell and disappeared.

"He's in a bad way David..might need to bring the doctor in on this one."

"Were getting out of here soon, by the time the Doctor gets here we'll be gone..No.. we're going to have to move fast and have the Doctor look at him when we get there." Baily replied, as he knelt down beside the other man to inspect the unconscious Archer.."He's cold..freeing, better go get a couple of blankets. He said, as he turned his attention to a wound on Roy's head.

"Don't like the sound of that breathing..he musta sucked in some water when he went into the river...Just as well they found him when they did or we'd be in real deep shit.' the other man said.

"I would say in all probability that it's highly likely the you are anyway."

Both men spun around at the sound of the deep voice behind them..Springing to their feet simultaneously, eyes widening in surprise as they stared at the dark clad figure that stood in the doorway of the cell.

"Shit..Oh shit..You didn't say _he _was one of the heroes Dixon was talking about."

"He didn't say who they were." Baily replied nervously."We aren't alone you know..There's only one of you and ..." Baily stopped talking as a small explosion echoed from the front of the house.

"Actually My companion appears to be ensuring that you _are _alone.' Batman replied, taking a step forward.

Baily lunged forward, intent on slamming his head into the Dark Knights abdomen..only to fall to the floor in an unconscious heap.

The other man stepped back, raising his hands and shaking his head in terror..This hero wasn't human..he couldn't be. He hadn't even appeared to move much before Baily had fallen to the floor..This was Baily's cause...Baily had only paid him to do a job, and he was damned if he was going to risk his life for a cause he didn't personally care about. "I'm not gonna give ya no trouble." he said shakily, quickly obeying Batman's silent hand signal to move towards the cell door, where he was quickly cuffed to the bars.

Batman moved to the side of the ominously still red head and knelt beside him..checking for a pulse and feeling relief at finding one, even if it was weak and thready...The young man was barely recognisable as the same confident, cocky hero he had worked with on occasion...the pale face and dark ringed sunken eyes attested to the hardship he had faced over the recent weeks, he'd lost a great deal of weight and his red hair was mattered with dirt and dried blood..But that wasn't what worried the Caped Crusader the most..it was the iciness of the young mans skin, the rattle that came with each shallow breath and the blue tinge that appeared around his lips that was most concerning. Reaching upwards, Batman unfastened his cape from his cowl and moved to wrap the young man in it, attempting to try and retain whatever warmth he could.

"B..Batman?"

The whispered word caught Batmans attention, the young man's eyes were partly opened. "You're going to be okay Roy..We've come to take you home."

"We?"

Batman waited until a series of raspy coughs subsided from the red head. "Green Arrow's here."

"I knew he'd come..."

The words faded away and Batman felt the young man relax completely..a small smile touching the corners of the young Archers lips.

"I took them all...Shit!..is he.."

Batman didn't turn to look at Green Arrow, lifting the young man easily and turning towards the door. "He's alive..we need to get him out of here now..I suggest we secure his captors in here and leave them for the authorities to deal with them.".

Green arrow stood frozen to the spot for a moment, staring at his ex partner, his eyes resonating the fears the Archer felt.

Batman paused. "Here get him out of here, I'll deal with this and I'll meet you back at the jet shortly." he said, handing the young man over to theBow manand steering him towards the door.

end 7


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Once on the plane, Green Arrow began to remove the still damp clothing from his ex partners body, stripping the young man down to his boxers ..cursing to himself at the numerous new and healing cuts and bruises that covered Roy's body..He'd been the victim of torture techniques himself before and he knew instantly what had occurred to his boy..he also knew it left more than the physical wounds that needed healing..the emotional ones were much harder to recover from

"You'll find a thermal blanket in the first aide compartment." Batman said as he entered the plane behind the Archer...He paused for a moment, to look at the young man before reaching out to take hold of the young Archers arm, running his thumb lightly over the small bruises on the inside of the red head's elbow "Track marks.".

"I know..I saw em." Green Arrow replied, returning with the blanket and beginning to cover Roy's body. "Bastards..If we didn't have to get him out of here so quick I'd..." The Archer broke off and shook his head. "What they hell coulda been so damn important that they'd do this to him?"

Batman moved into the cockpit. "We'll find out soon enough."

A soft moan brought Green Arrows attention back to the younger Archer. "'S okay kiddo, your safe now..no one's gonna hurt ya while I've got your back." he said quietly, placing a strong hand on Roy's shoulder, to be rewarded by the younger man opening his eyes and trying to focus on his face.

"Ollie" Roy whispered..his breathing increasing, the wheezy gasps becoming more noticeable.

"Just lay there kiddo, don't try to talk..."

"I didn't tell them Ollie..I'll never tell."

Green Arrow frowned. "Tell what son?..What didn't you tell them?" he asked.

"I'll never tell..."

The words faded away and Roy lapsed back into sleep, his laboured breathing echoing in Green Arrows ears. "Must be one hell of a secret." he muttered.

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"They have failed you Austin..There is nothing more we can do."

"You know me better than that Amar..I have not given up yet, there is always a way..righteousness will always succeed...My mistake was in allocating such important work to a lesser subject..I do not blame David, he is weak..but I am strong." Dixon said as he stood looking out the window..his hands clasp behind his back

"You intend to proceed with the plan?" Amar asked, standing quietly behind the other man

"Of course."

"How..we don't have Harper anymore..."

"Don't underestimate the greater good Amar..We are not finished yet, our work is of too greater importance to stop..we are only pawns in a far greater purpose, a purpose that must be fulfilled." Dixon replied as he turned to face the smaller man.

"Than what will we do?" Amar asked curiously, he didn't doubt for a moment Dixon would have a plan.

Austin Dixon smiled, "We will take back what is our's..I will ensure it is done personally this time. There will be no mistakes..The information Roy Harper has is rightfully ours and he _will _give it to us."

"When will you do it?"

"We will allow him time to recover slightly..have someone find out where he is taken to..and have them watch him carefully. I'll let you know when it's time to move." Dixon said, waving at the other dismissively, he watched as Amar turned to go. "Oh and Amar.."

"Yes Austin"

"Have confidence..we are never alone..know that."

"Yes Austin."

end 8


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Dinah ran her hand down Roy's pale cheek.. the nursing staff had taken the time to clean him up and shave the few weeks worth of growth that had given the young man a beard that gave Ollie a run for his money..and at least now he was slightly more recognisable as the young man she knew and loved, than the stranger he had seemed when she had rushed to meet Ollie here when they first brought him in.

"He still out to it?" Ollie asked as he entered the hospital room.

Dinah glanced up as the Archer came towards her. "Yeah..they're keeping him out to it a bit longer I believe." she replied softly, turning back to look at the sleeping red head."He seems to be breathing easier this morning though." she added.

"I just wish they'd stop sedating him and let him wake up properly, I wanna know what the hell happened." Ollie replied, sighing deeply and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

"No you don't..Ollie you don't wish that at all..you've got no idea what he's going to face when he wakes up, even with the treatment they've given him here to get that crap out of his system he's still going to have a lot to deal with..The longer he sleeps the better it will be." Dinah replied firmly.

"I just wish I could have had the chance to make those mongrels pay..now they're sitting in a nice warm jail cell and I can't touch them." Ollie replied. "Damn it I just wish I'da known sooner that he was missing, he'd already been gone a week by the time I even found out...hell I hadn't even spoken to him in almost a month before that."

"Maybe that's something the two of you need to work on Ollie..I know the problems you've faced in the past have made you grow apart..and I _know _that you've been working at changing that, but there's always room for improvement..make it a goal to call him more often, reach out a little more Ollie..even if it seems like he's not reaching back at first..just try..." Dinah's voice faded as Roy stirred, coughing, then mumbling to himself before reaching up to pull at the tubing that supplied oxygen to the cannula under his nose.. Dinah grabbed his hand. "No you don't..leave that alone Boyo...Welcome back to the land of the living red" she finished, smiling reassuringly as the young man opened his eye's to look at her.

Roy watched her for a moment, then moaned softly. "You call this living?" he whispered.

Ollie chuckled. "You must be getting better if you can crack jokes." he said, moving to stand on the other side of the bed, and placing his hand on Roy's arm.

"Wasn't joking." Roy mumbled, closing his eye's again.

Ollie stood quietly for a moment, watching as the younger man's breathing deepened and he fell back into sleep. "That's it?..That's all we get?..Sheesh kid, I thought you had more stamina than that!" he said, smiling and gently tussling the red heads hair affectionately.

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Austin Dixon collected his luggage and made his way across the busy airport terminal towards the exit..He hailed a cab and climbed inside, giving the driver the directions, before sitting back in the seat and relaxing, sighing contentedly and smiling to himself. He would succeed where David had failed, he should have taken care of things himself in the first place.

He'd had to use a false name to slip back into the country...but now he was here he would need to move fast to follow through on the plans he had formed..He'd arranged to meet the men he would need to assist him in the morning..He would discuss his plans with them, then execute those same plans tomorrow night, getting what he came for and slipping back out of the country by the next morning.

Dixon was still smiling as the cab pulled up in front of the motel he had prearranged, he paid the driver and carried his bag inside, obtaining the key to his room before taking the elevator upstairs to his floor. He had no doubt things would run smoothly this time, there was a power greater than all of humanity at work..he was gods chosen servant and he _would _not fail.

Dixon unlocked the door and stepped into the room..searching for the switch to turn on the light, before heading towards the bed and throwing his suitcase on it...Soon he would have the information he needed to do gods will and right the imbalance that was forming in the world..soon he would ensure the purity of the human race.

"Welcome back to America Dixon."

Dixon spun around to face the owner of the voice..A lean raven haired young man in a midnight blue and black costume leaned casually against the wall, his arms folded across his chest..his features disguised by the black eyemask he wore.

"Don't look so worried..There's been a nice warm padded cell arranged for you to stay in..and it won't cost anywhere near as much as this place does." the young man said with a confident smile.

end 9


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

Roy opened his eyes and lay quietly, the room was dark, but he could sense someone else nearby..He swallowed and pushed down the nausea that seemed to plague him constantly and turned to face his silent companion. "Hey Wingster." he said quietly, forcing a smile to his lips.

"Hey yourself Bow head...I gotta say, you look like crap." Nightwing replied, moving to sit on the edge of his friends bed.

Roy allowed himself a chuckle, which quickly turned into a cough..then a moan. "I gotta say I feel like crap!" he grumbled quietly.

"Look like crap..feel like crap..."

"Don't say it..I ain't in the mood for dealing with your terrible jokes...You really gonna have to take some lessons from the master of wittiness himself." Roy said.

"Well Batman keeps promising to teach me but..." Nightwing stopped as he friend burst into a snigger which turned into another fit of coughing, that caused the Archer of roll onto his side and curl up clutching his chest and groaning. "Oookay..no more jokes..I get it." he said seriously. "They really did a number on you buddy..you gonna fess up to what the deadly secret was that they so desperately wanted to know?"

Roy remained silent for a moment, looking at the wall, seemingly deep in though.

"Big stuff huh?" Nightwing prompted.

"Yeah..you could say that Wingster, I can't really tell you everything."

"Just tell me what you can then." Nightwing replied softly.

Roy sighed deeply, continuing to stare at the wall. "A few years back..I was still with Checkmate..I was sent to bring in an Italian Scientist..." Roy paused and swallowed. " He had been working on a formula for a gas that could destroy some of the common flu viruses..you know the ones that are rampant each winter...Well he'd come up with a formula that had potential..and it was in it's trial stage..."

"So he'd found a potential fixit for a cold..that's what your saying?"

"Just wait, there's more..They sent me in after this guy..and almost from the beginning I knew things weren't right..It just wasn't the kind of thing that Checkmate would normally be involved in..they'd fed me some crap about this scientist secretly working to develop a

bio weapon for some extremist group working out of the gulf...But like I said, something wasn't right..and I knew it.." Roy paused for a moment he'd never shared this information with any one else..it made him a little unnerved even talking about it. "What would you think Dick, if you knew there was a way to develope a biological weapon that could destroy every Meta human on the planet and leave normal humans untouched?" he whispered.

"Shit is that what this was all about?..You know some thing that will do that?"

"I know where _someone _is that know's how to do that."

"This guy..this scientist?"

"Yeah..he stumbled on it just by accident..a gas that's odourless, but when released into the air it changes the genetic structure of the flu virus so that the virus becomes deadly to almost any one that has a meta gene...some meta's are lucky and they wouldn't be affected by it..but more that eighty percent would...Checkmate wasn't pulling all the strings on that case..I found that out afterwards...There were others involved in the background that wanted the formula for less then ethical reasons"

"Where's this guy now?...How do you know he won't ever reveal what he knows."

"That's the stuff I can't tell you..No one will ever know because I'm the only one who knows where he is..and I ain't ever giving that up..not to anyone..All I can tell you is the guy's genuine, he was just as freaked by what he'd found as I was..he destroyed all his work..left everything behind and disappeared..he won't be found..I'm sure of that."

"You helped this guy vanish?"

"Someone had to..we staged his death..I knew the case wasn't kosher when Checkmate dropped the disciplinary action they'd threatened me with..Yeah I got my ass kicked but not as bad as I should have if everything had been above board...That's it Wing..no more..you get no more out of me, the less you know the better it'll be in the long run."

"Do you know what something like this could do in the wrong hands?" Nightwing said quietly.

"That's why it stays between us, no one else knows Dick...no one, not even Ollie..just you..That's why I can't tell you any more then I have...what you don't know can't hurt you"

The two men remained silent for awhile before Nightwing spoke. "So..how long you going to whimp out and be in here? I mean come on a little bit of pneumonia and a few bumps and bruises ain't that bad..Bet you've been enjoying the sponge baths you've been getting, that's whats keeping you here isn't it?."

Roy stared at the other man, he could see the mask move on his face and he knew he'd raised his eyebrows suggestively..he smiled. "Dude..I ain't having _no _sponge baths..one nurse is sixty if she's a day and the other is male...they ain't getting anywhere near me, at least not now I'm awake enough to know whats going on.

"Sixty huh?..I didn't think age would be a barrier to you Speedy..you're slowing up in your old age buddy." Nightwing said, laughing at his own joke..as well as the groan of disapproval from his friend. "I'm outta here Dude, before the new woman in your life comes in to check on you and see's me here." he added as he turned towards the window and climbed out, disappearing into the night.

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"Hey hey..whats this?..Real food kiddo!..You're gonna be back wearing those fancy PJ's and out bashing heads before ya know it." Ollie said as he stepped into Roy's room.

Roy smiled at the exuberant greeting from his former mentor."I might be able to eat it but it remains to be seen if it's gonna stay down or not." he replied, pushing the tray of food out of the way and leaning back on the pile of pillows behind him.

"You've gotta learn to be more confident my boy..be optimistic, of course it's going to stay down, and if it does you'll be coming home in the morning." the older man said, pulling up a chair and sitting down before propping his feet up on the edge of the bed and leaning back.

Roy's eyes brightened at that small detail. "_Really_?..They didn't tell me that..if that's the case it's staying down..well I ain't telling if it doesn't, cause I want out of here real bad..I can't wait to get home." he said sighing, and closing his eyes for a moment.

"Well by home I don't mean New York..You're headed to the belfry for a week or..."

"Like hell..c'mon Ollie, I not going there, you hafta be kidding me." Roy said, sitting up and looking agitatedly at the older man.

Ollie cocked an eyebrow, he had the feeling that little piece of information might be hard for the kid to swallow. "What are ya complaining about..your kids been staying there for the last couple of weeks." he said.

Roy rolled his eye's "That's different..she doesn't know any better..'sides Bat's actually like's her...he can't _stand _me."

"Don't be stupid..of course he like's you, he wouldn't have trounced all over the country..actually make that the world, with me trying to track you down if he didn't give a damn..He's all bark and no bite, you gotta stop needing clean underwear everytime he looks at you kid..just grow a pair!" Ollie grumbled.

"I've seen his bite..believe me it's definitely more that all bark...Why do I hafta go there anyway..why can't I just go home?" Roy whined.

Ollie held his hands up in a 'don't look at me ' gesture. "Dinah organised it..you got a problem with it take it up with her..She say's you need old Alfies cooking to fatten you up..I couldn't see why you couldn't come to my joint and I coulda fed you full of chile..but you know Dinah..no arguing when her minds made up.."

Roy flopped back on the pillows. "I feel sick." he groaned.

"Knock it off." Ollie said, smiling to himself..."You gutless wonder." he added jokingly.

Roy rolled his eyes.."Do you know how much torture it will be staying in _that _place...Can't you do something Ollie?..Talk to Dinah for me..please?" he begged.

"Kiddo..you know I'd like to I really would..But this is Dinah.." Ollie replied as he stood up and walked over to the bed, giving the younger man's shoulder a quick pat. "Seriously though son..I happen to agree with her, at least at the manor there will be someone hanging around the joint that's not going to have to rush off to fight crime..Alfred's a good guy..he'll take good care of ya, and don't argue about it..one look at you and I can see you need more than a pat on the back and a bowl of chile to get back into shape..Just give it a week or so okay?"

Roy sighed deeply. "One week?..I can do that..one week. I'll just stay outta dark and scary's way." he said..he could be brave for one week..couldn't he?..He smiled. "Lian will be there..she'll protect me." he mumbled.

"Atta boy!" Ollie said, chuckling and giving the redhead a playful punch on the shoulder, he was glad to have the young man back to some semblance of his old self..."It's good to have you back son..you had me worried for a while there...I don't know what I would have done if the worst had gone down" he admitted seriously.

"Had myself worried for awhile there...Now go away and leave me alone old man..don't go getting all deep and serious on me, I hate that stuff as much as you do." Roy said, closing his eyes and stifling a yawn.."I'm going to sleep and I ain't even gonna look at your ugly mug anymore anyway." he said..smiling to himself as he felt his mentor give his shoulder one last squeeze."I knew you'd eventually come looking..when the crunch comes I know you'll have my back." he mumbled sleepily.

"You can count on it son." Ollie said quietly, he stayed for a moment watching the young man, before turning and heading out the door.

"Thanks."came the whispered reply as the older Archer left the room.

end


End file.
